“Hey?” Caramel smiled as the group trotted across a courtyard of cloudstone. “What about Cumulus Casino?”
“Dang it, girl,” Lyra grumbled. “For the last time—” She paused to weather a Chineighs buffet belch. “We're not doing the Cumulus Casino!”
“But it's classy!” Caramel pouted.
“It's also the oldest establishment in Upper Las Pegasus.” Lyra shook her head. “No no... we wanna aim high.” She grinned. “We want glitz, glamour, and a whollllllle lot of flashing lights to mask the tears of gambling. I'm talkin' about a friggin' mountain of slot machines upon which to lay our souls to rest.”
“My goodness, Lyra,” Bon Bon exhaled. “Did we come here for a vacation or for a wake?”
“Same difference, if you ask me,” Lyra said with a chuckle. “Think of it this way, you don't know how good you've got it until you've let yourself sink rock bottom. That's the whole reason Las Pegasus exists! Not everypony can be sent to Tartarus and come back. So we have this place as the mental and psychological equivalent!”
“You could get the same kind of thrill from a mugging in a Manehattan back alley,” Vinyl muttered.
“Pffft! Shut up!” Lyra frowned. “At least back alleys in Manehattan don't come with sexy-ass strip clubs!”
“When was the last time you were at Manehattan?”
Bon Bon giggled.
“I'm not kidding!” Lyra barked. “Sometimes you gotta get low to get high! Ha HA! Isn't that right, Rainbow Dash?”
Silence.
“Rainbow Dash?”
The pegasus flew behind the group. She winced, rubbing her forelimbs together, trying to get a feel through the numbness.
“Hey! Rainbow Dash!” Lyra growled.
“Huh?” Rainbow looked up. “What?”
“You know the place I have in mind, don't you?” Lyra snickered. “Only a thrill-seeking pegasus like you would expect both the best and the worst!”
“Uhhhhhhhhh...” Rainbow Dash blinked. “... … ...can I take the physical challenge?”
“Hey...” Caramel smiled bashfully. “How about Cumulus Casino?”
Bon Bon giggled again.
“Dang it, girls!” Lyra spun and pointed at a sudden skyscraper towering above them. “I'm speaking of the hottest, richest, filthiest casino in all of Las Pegasus! Now feast your eyes!”
Everyone tilted their heads up. Above them loomed a massive structure made to look like it was built on the outside by layers and layers of marble pillars. The effigies of pegasi—frozen in flight—flanked the outer balconies. Big braziers burned, spitting smoke and ashes into the high air. Classical music wafted out of the structure, and airborne taxis and tourist shuttles congregated cyclonically about the scraper.
“Huh... The Last Stand,” Vinyl murmured.
Rainbow glanced aside. “Huh?”
“You know...” Vinyl squinted back. “Commander Hurricane's Last Stand? Named after the mare of legend.”
“And guaranteed to make a Las Pegasus night of legend!” Lyra grinned from ear to ear. “Come on, girls!” She motioned as she galloped ahead. “Let's buckin' mosey!”
“Lyraaaa!” Bon Bon scampered after her. “Wait!”
“Oh wow...” Caramel followed the others. “I bet they have gorgeous shops in there.”
Vinyl sighed and bore a cold smirk. “You heard our mint green leader, Rainbow.” She cleared her throat as she trotted forward. “Put your legs into it.”
“Mrmmfff...” Rainbow flitted after her, approaching the front entrance to the massive casino. “Don't you start...”